Single Anastomosis Duodenal Jejunal Bypass – Facts, Risks & Costs

It’s quite a mouthful, but the single anastomosis gastric bypass is an up and coming form of surgery that’s making its mark on the world as we speak. Before we go one step further, let’s break down this terribly complicated name and see what we’re dealing with.  There are a lot of scientific words in the name of this surgical procedure! There are two parts to the procedure.  One is the restrictive type of weight loss surgery, which makes your stomach smaller.  The other is the malabsorptive part, which is what causes fewer calories to be absorbed by your small intestine.  

 

Part One: The Single Anastomosis Duodenal Jejunal Bypass

The term single anastomosis duodenal bypass refers to the fact that there is only one connection that’s being restructured during surgery, rather than more as in a Roux-en Y Gastric Bypass. That’s done by taking the “outflow tube” of the stomach (using layman’s terms here!) and reconnecting it at a lower point on the small intestine.  That means the “bypassed” portion of the small intestine won’t have a chance to touch the food you ate, meaning it won’t be able to absorb as many calories. The parts bypassed are the duodenum and the jejunum, which is why this procedure is called the duodenal jejunal bypass.  Those parts are bypassed, so less calories are absorbed.

 

Part Two: The Restrictive Part

A duodenal jejunal bypass by itself was not developed as a type of weight loss surgery.  Rather, it was developed for people who have Type 2 Diabetes.  It causes dramatic results in these patients, sometimes even causing remission of the disease! So, duodenal jejunal bypass on its own leaves the stomach totally intact, since Type 2 Diabetes patients for whom this surgery was invented, often have a BMI under 32 and don’t qualify for gastric bypass surgery. However, for those whose BMI is over 37 or so, (lower is possible if you have serious obesity-related health conditions like heart disease or high blood pressure), the duodenal bypass is looking like it’s going to prove very useful too. Even though the duodenal bypass wasn’t created to help morbidly obese patients with weight loss, it can be combined with a sleeve gastrectomy to induce significant results.

 

More Facts About the Duodenal Jejunal Bypass

It suggested by researchers that duodenal jejunal bypass surgery helps people lose weight not only because of its malabsorptive results, but because it also changes the hormones in the digestive system.  That’s pretty dramatic, if it turns out to be true! Of course since the single anastomosis gastric bypass surgery is relatively new, more studies need to be done on how the blood sugars in the body react after this and other types of weight loss surgery. It’s also starting to look like Diabetes patients who undergo single anastomosis gastric bypass surgery experience even greater results than patients who lost weight by diet and exercise.  We’re talking diabetes-related results here, not weight loss. But let’s get back to the benefits of the duodenal bypass for patients who need to lose a lot of weight but may or may not have Type 2 Diabetes.

  • If you’re morbidly obese and have heart disease, high cholesterol, or sleep apnea, duodenal bypass surgery may improve these obesity-caused conditions (known as “comorbidities”)
  • Because this is a single anastomosis gastric bypass and the pylorus is preserved, there is no “dumping syndrome” side effect, which is common in other types of gastric bypass surgeries.
  • No foreign bodies are left in the body (such as with band surgery).
  • No blind loops are created, meaning the gastro-intestinal tract can still be observed via endoscopy (tube down the throat).

 

What are the Risks of Duodenal Jejunal Bypass?

You’ll have to take vitamins for the rest of your life, but aren’t you doing this anyway?  This is because part of your small intestine doesn’t have access to the food you eat any longer. Remember, from earlier, we learned that’s how fewer calories will get absorbed?  Well the same holds true for nutrients…fewer of them get absorbed, too! All the usual risks of having any type of surgery are present here, too:

  • venous thrombosis
  • leaks in the new connection points (anastomotic leaks)
  • infection
  • abscess

 

How About the Costs?

Please contact us for the cost.

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